Battery invention may save kids' lives

Old and new-style batteries.

Dye release tells parents and doctors button battery has been swallowed

A ground-breaking development by a New Zealander is expected to reduce death and injury from dangerous button batteries worldwide.

Jeongbin Ok from Victoria University School of Design has produced a prototype battery that expels a non-toxic colouring if it comes into contact with saliva.

"If a child puts the battery in its mouth, it will stain the mouth a bright colour so the caregiver is alerted to what has happened," Ok told the Herald on Sunday.

"We are currently working on different colours so they are not confused with colours from lollies or confectionery."

Ok began working on the design three years ago when he read a newspaper article about a toddler who died after swallowing a button battery.

"I read about this tragedy and I wanted to do something that combined my knowledge of science and my design work," he said.

"I have a real passion for design to improve health and safety."

Ok was working in partnership with a battery manufacturer and the batteries are due to go into production early next year.

The powerful lithium batteries are found in everything from toys, laptops, iPads, remote car keys to musical greeting cards.

If swallowed, a battery will emit an electrical charge when body tissue surrounds it and connects the positive and negative terminals.

At least two children are treated by emergency services each week in New Zealand for injuries caused by button batteries.

Ok is also working on new packaging that will keep loose batteries secure and provide a safe way to dispose of used batteries.

Anne Weaver from SafeKids Aotearoa was excited about the new design and said the timing was perfect. Tomorrow international button battery safety awareness week starts.

Safe Kids Aotearoa was also launching a website to raise awareness. It had teamed up with the Ministry of Health and battery manufacturer Energizer to launch an online tool to help medical staff diagnose and treat children suspected of button battery injuries.

For more information on the dangers of batteries, click here.

Mother says battery dye great idea

Northland mum Olivia Sweeney — who had a scare with her son Tommy, 3, swallowing a battery in 2012 — welcomed the development.

"It's a great idea. I think it would be great to alert the parents, as well as to perhaps help convince the doctors," she said.

"In our case, Tommy told us he'd swallowed it but the doctors didn't believe us until after the scan."

Sweeney still believed an education programme should be mounted to let people know what the dye meant.

"These little batteries come in everything and are often not that secure. They are quite a risky thing."

As for Tommy, now 5, she said he is doing great and is known by cousins as the "Energizer Kid". "He certainly doesn't need extra batteries."